Brief
Scores
SRP XI: 7 / 224 in 20 overs
Jaideep 96 (30)
Jambu
55 (45)
Abhinav
37 (21)
Prasanna
2/15 (1)
Sakib
2/37 (4)
Valley
Boys: 170 all
out in 19.5 overs
Yawar 73 (42)
Nasir
29* (25)
Abhinav
2/2 (1)
Balle
2/37 (4)
Man of
the Match: Jaideep
(SRP XI)
Best
Performer Valley Boys: Yawar
Jaideep’s
Stunning 96 in 30 Balls Seizes the Day for SRP XI
Jaideep produced the most brutal batting assault of the season,
clattering 12 savage sixes during an astounding 30-ball knock of 96 not out. He
missed one crucial swing off a weak slower ball in the last over, or else he
would have completed a mind-boggling 100. His innings propelled the SRP total
at jet-speed to a towering 224. the target proved to be well beyond Valley
Boys’ spirited effort, even as Yawar continued his prolific run in the
tournament with another 50.
Jambu and
Abhinav Give SRP Solid Start
 |
| Abhinav and Jambu (l to r) put up a 73-run partnership |
Jaideep’s late-over burst was set up by a solid fifty by Jambu
at the top of the order. His 2nd wicket union with Abhinav, a
left-handed batsman who plays a sizzling cover drive, yielded 73 runs in 44
balls, after Robinson was caught at extra-cover of the bowling of Nasir in the
3rd over. The promising partnership started on a bright note in the
4th, as Jambu scooped Vilayat over mid-wicket for four, before
Abhinav punished errant lines either side of the wicket, first flicking off his
pads then square driving a wide delivery for a couple of boundaries.
Tweakers Prasanna
and Sakib Engineer Comeback for Valley Boys
The next big over was the 8th, as Jambu lifted Wasim
for a six over cover before Abhinav pin-pointed the vacant extra cover
boundary. The clinical precision with which both batsmen punished width was the
feature of this partnership. Abhinav looked to be racing into top gear in the
11th, with a four and a six off leg-spinner Prasanna’s first two
deliveries of the match – the first a full toss no-ball above the waist. He
charged out of his crease next ball, however, and ended up stumped, his
promising knock cut short against the run of play for 37.
The drama in the over continued as Sudhir pulled a short ball
for four, before being clean bowled off the last ball. At 98 / 3 after 11,
Valley Boys were now well into the game. Off-spinner Sakib was constructing a
superb spell from the other end, choking the batsmen with tight line-lengths.
He put his side in the driver’s seat with a twin strike in the 14th
over. Akki was the first to go off a leading edge, as Vilayat completed an
excellent running catch at point. Jambu was them caught at long on, terminating
an excellent knock of 55.
JD’s
Stunning Demolition
 |
| JD receiving the Man of Match award |
14 overs, 114 / 5, Valley Boys on top. Enter stage Jaideep. The
15th over produced the first taster of what was to come, as JD’s
destructive bat pulverized two sixes off medium pacer Tariq, first a pull then
an off-drive. After that over, all hell broke loose. SRP XI got a mind-boggling
95 in their last 5 overs. 82 of these came of Jaideep’s bat off 22 balls, as he
smoked 10 more sixes.
JD destroyed off-spinner Sakib’s stellar figures of 3-0-10-2,
with 27 off the 16th over, including three sixes – the last of these
a gigantic straight drive – and two boundaries. Along the way, JD was dropped
twice by Wasim at long on, but the reprieves did not curb his adventurous
hitting. With 4 balls to go, JD had 22 to get for the season’s fastest hundred.
He smashed the next two balls for sixes, before somehow a slower delivery that
he had actually spotted early. The last ball was also dispatched over the ropes
to complete his memorable 96 not out.
Yawar Plays
Lone Hand for Valley Boys
The highlight of the chase was Yawar’s innings of 73. He was the
only batsman to threaten the SRP attack, but even his aggressive 42-ball knock
could not match the asking rate, such was the pressure of the 224-run total.
Yawar walked out to bat in the 2nd over, as Dinesh held on to a
blistering drive by Wasim at extra cover to give Akki a wicket off his first
ball. The batter looked in excellent touch from the moment he walked out,
cracking a couple of boundaries in the 3rd over, including an
exquisite extra cover drive.
 |
| Yawar was the Best Performer for Valley Boys |
Yawar stroked a fluid six over mid-wicket off Dinesh in the 5th
over, before blasting two extra cover drives off Akki in the next. After
getting a reprieve in the 8th over – a simple catch of his spilled
at long off – Yawar tucked into Dinesh once again in the 9th with a
boundary past fine leg and a six over long on. He completed his fifty with a
six over mid-wicket in the 10th, and left Valley Boys reasonably
well placed at 90 / 2 at the halfway mark.
The in-form batter punished another two sixes in the next two
overs, and with 109 to get in 8 overs, SRP were beginning to get nervous.
However, left-arm spinner Abhinav came on and immediately picked up the big
wicket off his first ball, as Yawar lifted a drive straight into the safe hands
of Sreedharan at long on. Two balls later, Abhinav picked up Waseem Sofi caught
and bowled, and that sucked the fight out of the batting side.
The end would have come swiftly, but for Nasir’s feisty hitting
at the end. He ended with 29 not out, helping his side up to 170. Although
defeated, Valley Boys could take credit for putting up a brave fight throughout
the game. The difference in the end was the one-man army of Jaideep. Without
any doubt, he walked away with the Man of Match award, while Yawar took the
Best Performer award for his side once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment